After a wild couple weeks, everyone's favorite filamentous algae is back at the frog bath. Here's how we deal with it, and what it means when you find it in your pond. Plus, an interview with a special guest and string algae connoisseur.
I am brand new to fish ponds. On that note, I agree with you on this subject. We bought a house with a pre-existing koi pond in the back yard last June (2021). The water was so green it was impossible to see a "shadow" of something more than 1 inch beneath the surface. I opted to do a fully natural cleanup with zero chemicals or additives. I removed a lot of muck from the bottom, made my own filter that consists of nothing more than cotton batting surounded by course filter media. Added a waterfall, some water lili & water poppy plants. Before the end of last season, we had clear water & discovered we had 5 koi that the previous owners missed when the took all the other fish. In the beginning of ownership, the water was overloaded with single cell agea, so I put a UV light within the plumbing returning the water (after the filter) to eliminate the cloudy green. I leave the UV light off now and the water seems well balanced. This springs string algea is non-existant now due to our plants taking over the nutient demand. We now have a bunch of baby koi since the ones we had spawned. They are feeding on the beneficial bacteria (algea) that does still exist on the sides & bottom.
I’m helping my mother rejuvenate her yard and a pond is part of the tasks. She wanted to use chemicals, but I said let’s look into plants and ways to deal with what’s going on VS getting a product for an immediate solution. I saw all stages of damselflies, tadpoles and snails in there… I said we need to protect them and let them help us. Let’s get some plants that will benefit us and not treat it like a pool. Now that I’ve looked into algae, I’m going to look into why the water is so dark ❤❤
Omg! Y'all have not seen string algea until you see the new place I'm working at!!!! I can't wait to show you a picture,give me a few! Never seen anything like it in my 20 years of ponds!!!! And whoever made this pond didn't mortar in rocks
Would love to see pics. No mortar is intentional for this pond. What do you think is the reason for the string algae explosion in the pond you're talking about? Over feeding fish?
We are over 7000 feet here,so that means we are very close to the sun.i believe that has a lot to do with it,doesn't really feed fish in winter,I do know that I just fixed a leak coming from skimmer box(grass had grown thru) and found out he (everyday) adding tap water and probably has way too many fish,having trouble getting a picture to come thru,I'll try again tomorrow.thank you
@@jodirichardson2820 Cool, I bet that looks awesome. It's pretty common for the stone walls in my area to not have mortar and that's the look we were going for on the edging for this pond (we actually sourced the stone from old walls on our property). The inside of the pond is bare liner other than the gravel in and around the intake bay and a few strategically placed large rocks to mask folds, so no need for mortar there. This is more visible in some of our more recent videos since all the plants are still dormant from the winter.
Thanks for this. I did a big re-do of my pond early this spring and the new plants are just getting going. Also, I haven’t added fish yet. So, add some goldfish and be patient with the plants ✅
Great presentation ... I thoroughly enjoyed it. AND I am going to do just as you suggest ... I hadn't fully understood quite why the horrid string algae suddenly appeared (we had formerly called it 'the spring bloom') ... but I am gonna just leave it alone and 'let nature take its course'. Thank you for all the advice x
What you described is my exact situation. My pond is new, less than a year, so adding plants is exactly what I'm doing. Thanks for the video! Make more... have you had red leg frog problems?
I'm so glad this was helpful. Add plants and be patient- it could take 3 weeks or more but it will clear up if you manage the organic matter. I haven't heard of red leg frog so that's something I'm gunna go google now!
I have string algae right now that has been a battle....but from what I've been reading it's not all bad to have it there. Usually by mid May most of it is gone. Koi enjoy pulling it away from the sides of the pond and pretty sure it's a snack for some of the fish. Just another cycle for the pond to go through each spring into summer. It usually clears up once my plants and bacterial have a chance to catch up.
i need to feed my fish less. i already have a bog filter and the pond is clear but there is build up of string algae which i am now scooping up with a metal brush. but will try not feeding the fish as much
The intake bay is the same depth as the pond, about 3 ft. This is critical for allowing it to run all winter. If it's not deep enough it can freeze solid. The pump is inside the pump vault, check out the cleanout video I posted this fall. A 5 gallon bucket could potentially work but it would need a lot of slats cut in it and access after construction would be challenging if it were buried that deep. I recommend a larger container or purpose built vault.
I'm not sure if they're exactly the same but I have seen what you're describing in fish tanks before and my guess is that they're closely related if not exactly the same.
I know this is an older video, but I have string algae in a separate pond that does not have fish. It just has plants the lower pond where the fish are is fine, but I can't control it in the upper pond now they do share the same water system, as it goes through a pump from the fish area up into the upper pond and then flows back down. Is there anything I can add to that or just let it be? My worry is the pond isn't as deep as the other one so I usually don't put fish up there due to it icing in the winter.
You just add one spoonful of dissolved salt at a time, every 2-3 days. The goldfish and plants are fine. All the algae dies. Been doing it for years, at the recommendation of an aquarium shop. Louise, Australia 🦘
I have used salt in my aquariums in the past for certain fish issues so it makes sense folks add it to their ponds. Personally though I think it's better to deal with the environmental factors by adding plants or just waiting for the plant to run its course.
My local aquarium shop poached drift wood from the local stream I laughed when I saw the string algae in all their tanks a month later they moved to a different location and specialised in salt water fish and coral they got rid of all the tropical fish and plants they lasted about a year before they went out of business.
